Electric Guitar Detail

the electric guitar is achieved by amplifying the electronic signal caused by the
vibration of the string above the pickup. The most common type of pickup consists of
a coil of fine wire wrapped around a magnet. The vibration of the metal string within
the magnetic field of the coil produces very tiny electrical pulses. This tiny electrical
pulse is amplified by a separate amplifier to drive the sound of the speaker. Since the
strings and pickups are all that is needed to create this signal, an electric guitar doesn't
really need a resonant body, so it can be made of solid wood or even plastic. But the
material a solid guitar is made of has a decisive influence on its tone.

Four types

In addition to solid-body electric guitars, there are hollow-body electric guitars, semi-
hollow-body electric guitars, and chamber-core electric guitars. While the main tone
of an electric guitar is determined by the action of the strings above the magnet
pickups, the resonant chambers of the latter three types of guitars can produce a fuller
sound that some players prefer.

·Solid body electric guitar can be made into any shape because there is no limit for
further study—it can be as small as only the neck and pickups, or it can be made into
a very wild alternative shape. The solid body electric guitar has been found in
virtually every style of modern music.
Hollowbody electric guitars are typically characterized by their arched tops and are
prone to feedback problems at very high volumes. This type of guitar is often a
favorite of jazz guitarists due to its rich, round tone and powerful low-frequency
resonance.

Hollowbody guitars have both a solid wood center (to avoid feedback problems) and
larger chambers on either side and often with soundholes. From mellow jazz to heavy
punk, the semi-hollow guitar has its own stage to show.

· Chambered electric guitar digs out a closed cavity inside based on the solid guitar.
Because of its lighter weight and better resonance, many traditional solid-body guitars
have corresponding cavity-core versions.

Chord length
length of the strings from the bridge to the nut—the longest distance over which the
strings vibrate freely.

The 25-1/2" scale length is derived from the standard scale length of steel-string
acoustic guitars. Most Fender guitars use this scale length. This scale length has high
tension on the strings, resulting in more High-frequency sound. Because this string
length is slightly more difficult to play, many guitarists install lighter strings on 25-
1/2" scale guitars. The most famous guitars with this string length are Fender
Telecaster and Fender Stratocaster. Both guitars have been in production since the
1950s and are widely imitated, as well as Squier versions. Other manufacturers of 25-
1/2" scale guitars include ESP, Ibanez, Jackson, LTD, Parker, Schecter, and
Steinberger.

24-3/4" scale length is the scale length used by most Gibson guitars. Because it
requires less string tension, this scale length is relatively easy to play and produces
relatively little high-frequency sound Guitars with this string length are generally
installed with heavier strings, resulting in more low-frequency resonance and greater
output power. The most famous 24-3/4" string length guitars are Gibson Les Paul,
Gibson SC, Gibson Flying V, and Gibson ES-335. Like the famous Fender guitars,
these Gibson guitars have also been produced since the 1950s (except for the Flying
V), and they also have a more cost-effective Epiphone version. In addition, Dean
brand guitars generally use 24-3/4" string length.
• Some manufacturers use other string lengths. For example, the PRS guitar uses 25"
scale lengths and produces a unique tone that is slightly easier to play.

Pickup

There are three main types of pickups on the electric guitar market, and there are also
products that combine any of the three.

Single-coil pickups consist of a magnetic strip surrounded by thin wire, mounted

under the strings and perpendicular to the direction of the strings. The thin wire is
what picks up the vibrations of the strings and sends them out of the guitar. The
single-coil pickup was the earliest of the three pickups mentioned above. The
resulting one is bright and sharp, rich in high-frequency tones. The simplest version of
this pickup—still found on many guitars and admired by many players—produces an
audible 60-return humming noise under certain kinds of lighting, transformers, or
other electric field conditions.
The double-coil pickup (called humbucker in foreign countries) is formed by two sets
of coils that are oppositely surrounded, thereby canceling the hum noise of 60 times.
Because humbuckers sample two parts of the string—once for each coil—they
produce a smoother, rounder tone. Humbucking pickups generally produce a stronger
signal to the amp due to the two magnets inside. Humbucking pickups provide longer
sustain than single-coil pickups, but the sound is slightly fuzzier and has less high
frequency. Some humbuckers have coil control switches that allow you to select
which coil in the pickup to work on, resulting in a single-coil sound.

The pressure-sensitive pickup is made of non-magnetic crystal material, which can

produce extremely weak signals when the saddle is pressed. This weak signal requires
front-end amplification before being sent to a normal amplifier. Usually equipped
with active electronics to enhance the signal. On electric guitars, pressure-sensitive
pickups are often installed as separate components at the saddle. Some electric guitars
with pressure-sensitive pickups also have a special 13-pin output for synth guitars,
just like keyboards for pure synth tones. Additionally, pressure-sensitive timbres are
often used to mimic the sound of an acoustic guitar.
Guitar wiring

The effect of mounting pickups on different parts of the guitar body is to create
different types of sounds. Pickups mounted near the bridge pick up the sound from the
part of the string with the least overall movement, emphasizing the high frequencies.
A pickup mounted closer to the middle of the strings—closer to the neck of the guitar
—produces a sound with more mid and low frequencies. A hundred different wiring
schemes to the pickups on the same guitar make a hundred different tones. The
following are the most common ones:

The blade selector is obtained by inserting a flat metal strip into a flat slot, and
generally has five gears. (Older models and two-pickup guitars often only have three
positions.) In a standard three-pickup configuration, such as the one on the Fender
Stratocaster, the front position activates the pickup near the neck, and the second
position activates both the neck and middle pickups , the third gear only activates the
middle pickup, the fourth gear activates both the middle and bridge pickups, and the
final gear only activates the bridge pickup. Blade selectors are often paired with a
master volume control knob and two tone knobs - which increase or decrease the
high-frequency tone. A tone knob on the front controls the neck pickup, and a tone
knob on the back controls both the bridge and middle pickups.

Guitars with only two pickups—such as the Gibson Les Paul, SG, and ES-335—often
use a three-way toggle switch to select bridge pickups only, two pickups, or bridge
pickups only. In this configuration, it is common to have a separate volume control
knob and tone control knob for each pickup to precisely control the level and treble of
each pickup individually.

Timber

Given that the sound of an electric guitar with magnet pickups comes purely from
string and pickup changes, you might question why wood matters at all. The answer
lies in the fact that the wood the guitar is constructed of determines when the strings
vibrate and at the same time affects the shape of the string motion. A resonant wood
allows the pickup itself to move. The introduction of these two movements means that
the wood and construction of a guitar also have a huge impact on the tone.

Maple (Maple) is usually used to make the neck of the guitar. Maple is a more
common wood that is very dense and hard, and takes on great properties when
ground. This property, its white/gold color, and its tonal characteristics make maple a
popular wood for plies or bridges on high-end solid-body guitars. Some consider
maple to be the wood of choice for splints on some archtop guitars. Its hardness
allows the guitar-heavy high frequencies to come through. Maple is also sometimes
used as a fretboard to enrich the sound of the guitar.

Mahogany is a very dense, strong, but not very hard, hard wood that can be used for
all parts of the guitar, except for the fingerboard and bridge - which require a harder
material. Mahogany necks and backs are a common combination on short-scaled
long-scaled guitars with maple tops, such as the Gibson Les Paul. Another
combination is an all mahogany body and neck (except for the fingerboard). Since
mahogany is not very hard, it tends to emphasize the mid and low frequencies for a
more mellow guitar sound. Mahogany is very resonant and can enhance the sustain of
the guitar. It is usually a single dark brown in color.
Rosewood (Rosewood, also known as rosewood) is the longest wood used for electric
guitar fingerboards. It is very dense and hard, but also very beautiful, ranging in color
from almost black to mottled brown and gold.

Ebony (also known as ebony) is a very hard and dense wood that is mainly used on
the fingerboards of high-end guitars. Ebony gives the fingerboard a silky feel and is
usually almost black in color.

Ash is a commonly used body material for solid guitars. It is harder than mahogany
and very resonant, providing sustained sustain, bright tone, and well-defined
midrange. As a beautiful blond wood, ashwood is often used on clear lacquer guitars,
as opposed to alder on opaque lacquer guitars. Swamp ash is an even better
performing and very beautiful wood used on high-end guitars.

Alder has a similar tonal character to Ashwood but is much cheaper and not as
beautiful as Ashwood. It is probably the most common wood used for solid body
electric guitar bodies. Alder tends to be light tan in color.

Baker fir (Agathis) is comparable to alder in appearance and tone quality, but less
resonant. Baker firs are often used on inexpensive guitars by recent builders.

Nato also known as oriental mahogany, has a warm resonance and is a very strong
wood. Often used on the necks of cheap electric guitars because it is less expensive
than mahogany.

Neck structure
Electric guitar makers have three different solutions for the combination of neck and
body:

· Bolt-on necks are fitted into specific slots in the body, and then secured with three or
four wood screws passing through the back of the body and deep into the back of the
neck. This neck joint method is very critical in the history of the development of
electric guitars, because it reduces manufacturing costs, and it is the electric guitar
that has become popular. Bolt-on necks can be replaced, adjusted, and even repaired
by a very rough job—unlike several other neck styles. Most Fender (and a few others
like it) guitars have this neck style, as do some of the world's most popular vintage
guitars.

Glue Neck (Set neck) The neck of the guitar is glued to the body of the body, and
sometimes there is an extension, called the tongue. This form of neck is used on
Gibson (and some other similar) guitars, resulting in a very tight neck joint, allowing
vibrations to travel freely between the body and neck. Glued necks are expensive to
manufacture and very difficult to repair or replace.
Neck -through guitars are made from the same piece of wood from the top of the
headstock to the strap buckle at the end. This piece of wood can be single ply or
multi-ply. The wood on the sides of the body is glued to the sides of the middle wood.
The neck-through guitar body has maximized sustain and has the huge advantage of
not having a huge "heel" at the neck-to-body junction, allowing for the freest access
to the upper frets. Thru-neck guitars are expensive to make, but there are also some
surprisingly low-priced models like the ESP H-250.

Bridge

The bridge is the last part of the body that the strings pass before they stop vibrating
on the body or tailpiece. The importance of the bridge of the electric guitar is reflected
in the following two points. First of all, it is often used to adjust the strings, changing
the length of the strings to neutralize the differences between different strings
(diameter, material, etc.), to ensure that each string is not out of tune in high grade.
Second, and more interestingly, the bridge and string termination properties of some
electric guitars are such that they can be shaken! The bridge allows the player to
introduce vibrato into his or her playing by swinging a tremolo or wah-wah lever.
Notes can be pushed down and/or up slightly or even sharply by the vibrato bridge.
The bridge that performs this function is called a tremolo system. The name is
actually musically incorrect (tremolo refers to repeated changes in volume, not pitch),
but its roots are so old that academics have to acquiesce. Only certain models allow
you to pull the notes higher. Below are some of the most common types of bridge and
string terminations.
Tune-o-matic bridge - originally invented by Gibson in the 1950s, is a very common
design that allows individual tuning of the strings as well as overall string height
adjustment.

Rocking tremolo, or lever tremolo system, with separate saddles for separate pitch
and height adjustments. The bridge is fixed to the top of the guitar by two bolts and
can be rocked. This bridge features a wide vertical metal plate that runs through the
body of the guitar. This free-floating metal plate is connected to the inside of the
guitar by telescoping springs that precisely match the tension of the strings. The string
lock, which can suppress the strings makes this tremolo system more stable.

Locking vibrato - This type of bridge was originally designed by Floyd Rose. It's
similar to a two-point tremolo, with separate tuning and height adjustments, a spring-
loaded rocker along two bolts attached to the face of the guitar. They differ in that the
locking tremolo system compresses the strings, and concomitantly compresses the
strings at the nut. Thus, even if the tremolo handle is used freely, the pitch is always
stable as a rock. Some guitars, such as Jackson guitars, have a mechanism in the wood
surrounding this tremolo system, allowing the strings to be depressed or raised.
The Stop-bar tailpiece is bolted to the face of the guitar as a string termination for
maximum resonance of the guitar top. The self-rotating stop bar tailpiece provides
some compensating ridges and serves as both the bridge and the tailpiece. This type of
bridge is probably the best resonant bridge available because it transmits the vibration
of the strings directly to the top.

Bigsby is a brand of specific spring-loaded tremolo system that can be found on many
old and vintage style guitars. The Bigsby is a large and relatively heavy unit with a
rotating bar where the strings join. Many musicians like the nostalgic style of Bigsby.

Point rocking trem - This trem system was originally designed by Fender in the
1950s. Like the two-point tremolo, it is through-body, spring-loaded, and offers
individual tuning and height adjustments for the strings. Some players feel that since
this system has six bolts to connect the panels, it provides more vibration to the panel
and therefore has better resonance. Six-point tremolo is used on some vintage and
low-end guitars.

Brass barrel saddle (Brass barrel saddle) used on the old and reissue Fender
Telecaster. Many players still prefer this older system over more modern bridge
systems because it enhances the bright string tone for which the Telecaster is famous.
There are three brass tubes, each connected to two strings, and small screws to adjust
the height. Each tube is mounted on a large horizontal screw that adjusts the pitch of
each set of strings.

Tailpieces are sometimes found on hollowbody guitars, especially on older models.

This string terminator swings freely along the tail of the guitar, freeing the faceplate
from having to balance string tension.
A string -through body allows the strings to pass through the body before connecting
to the bridge. This look looks super cool and provides extra vibes.

Admittedly, over 50 years of continuous innovation have led to a variety of designs

by electric guitar manufacturers, and this small article is certainly not enough to cover
everything. However, this small article can give beginners some basic knowledge
framework, so that they will not be confused when browsing the introduction of
electric guitar in the future.